A GOLD Coast art exhibition opening on November 17 supports the Women, Life, Freedom movement, which began after the brutal police killing of a young girl in Iran for wearing a loose hijab.
After the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, who died on September 16 after she was detained and beaten by police in Tehran for ‘inappropriate attire’, thousands of women and men have been chanting Women, Life, Freedom in Iranian streets ever since.
Gold Coast Multicultural Arts (GC MAGIC) director Nasrin Vaziri said the art exhibition, Pomegranates Connection, at Robina art gallery from November 17 to 28 featured some protest art, which sees people raise their voices through arts including design, painting and performances.
“Protest arts is a platform that creative talents use to share their opinions on social, gender and other issues and involve the public to understand the issues,” Mrs Vaziri said.
“An example is the Iranian women’s movement, Women, Life, Freedom, when artists create epic artworks to send their messages to the world beyond the verbal language.”
The Pomegranates Connection project includes an invitation only Voices of Women event, featuring music by four performing artists and video journey by documentary filmmaker Jeff Licence of eight Queensland migrant artists at Parliament House in Brisbane on November 16.
The Pomegranates Connection art exhibition includes artwork by seven women and one man from Afghanistan, Uruguay, Israel, Iran and Mongolia.
“Art is not limited to just decorations,” Mrs Vaziri said.
“Our passion is about arts, women and social issues. It is not limited to any specific nation or region. Through the universal language of arts, we can increase our understanding and connection with each other, which in turn will foster more unity, peace and social harmony worldwide.
“I’m really amazed and impressed by how arts in general - graphic arts, paintings, singing - can help cheer up people to raise their voices, speak up for themselves and involve other nations and what they believe in to the rest of the world.”
This project has been supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
The Pomegranates Connection art exhibition will be launched at Robina Art Gallery on November 17 from 5-7pm. Entry is free and includes live music and refreshments.
The gallery is open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday and from 9am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. For more details, call Nasrin on 0434 932 537 or visit the Facebook page Gold Coast Multicultural Arts.